Saturday, April 27, 2013

Art in India


Art work is everywhere you look in India. This is not hyperbole. It is literally all around you. Even the simplest sari that the woman picking wheat on the fields is wearing - it is colorful with prints and a border, and is likely handmade. The big semi-trucks carrying everything from fruits and vegetables to concrete and bricks are hand-painted in all sorts of colors with designs of flowers or different Hindu gods. Same goes for the pick-up trucks and rickshaws. Store fronts are also painted in bright colors with creative fonts, and animated advertising.

Some of it looks totally ridiculous or gaudy to the Western eye, which tends to favor simplicity over intricacy. But when you look at it all closely, you recognize the amount of detail involved and steady hand required, and realize that it's made with true creativity and artistic skill.

Traveling India you also see amazing sights like the Taj Mahal, where thousands of pieces of marble have been intricately carved into floral designs and Arabic text with hundreds of thousands of pieces of colorful gems inlaid. Or you see a temple with carvings of Buddha the size of a Dollar coin, and carved archways that not only perfectly frame the monument inside, but have such detail that it leaves your jaw hanging - wondering how many hours of skill it would take.

Then of course, no matter where you are in India, you hear music in the air. At temples you will hear religious hymns from worshippers accompanied by soft drums. In the market you will hear loud, thumping Bollywood songs coming from store stereos. Sometimes car horns and back-up warning sounds are even programmed to play these upbeat tunes. India also has cinema (Bollywood itself, of course!), all types of dance, classical music, instruments like the sitar and tabla, photography, paintings, bronze sculptures, and stone and wood carvings - all of which have such a rich history here. 

Still, what I think amazes me most about it all is not necessarily the art itself, but the people behind the art and around the art. India embraces art like nowhere else I've seen.   

Nilit and I went to visit a gallery in Jaipur, where we were able to watch demonstrations of artists commissioned there by the Indian government to showcase their trade. We met a man there who worked on inlaid wood. He demonstrated how he carved an intricate design in a piece of wood using a chisel and hammer. The design was sweeping, and he hammered and turned his instruments with ease. The depth of the cut in the wood was only a few millimeters. He then took a sheet of copper and cut a thin strip from it - he cut it fast, and straight as an arrow. He laid the wire over the matching carved area of the wood, and hammered it in. Just a few seconds later, the copper strip was inlaid and flush with the wood. No adhesive. In order to make dots, he cuts a small piece from a thin wire, thereby making a tiny cylinder. He uses his knife to make a tiny hole in the wood where the design goes, and hammers in the cylinder. The designs were incredibly articulate, and his hands moved amazingly swiftly. I wish I had pictures to share, but photography wasn't allowed.

He spoke to us about how inlaid wood work was his family trade; secrets passed on through generations. His father, grandfather, great grandfather all did the same work. He showed us a wooden box that his father had made for the government as a gift from India to British royalty, adorned with the Prince of Wales feathers. The feathers were detailed and precise. He also showed us a big vase attached to a small stool, both filled with small designs of flowers, leaves, and other sweeping intricate designs. He showed it to us and told us that his father had made it years ago. 

"It is a masterpiece," he said. "It took him more than 5 months of work." He looked at it as astonishingly as we did, and handled it delicately. We told him it was amazing. He was smiling softly and beaming with pride. "My father made it," he said again. "Masterpiece."

We bought this little box from him. Though meager, we're hoping it at least in some way helps his family continue this beautiful trade.

We also had the pleasure of visiting the countryside in Srirangapatnam, a small island town near Mysore in the state of Karnataka. We visited farmers and craftsmen. A man who is a first-generation copper carver; men who build and paint (surprisingly ornate) bullock carts; and a new type of inlaid-wood carver.




This sweet man (first-generation copper carver) works out of his house.
A man carving for a bullock cart - You can see one painted behind him.

Inlaid wood work

A different type of "inlaid" wood work - None of this is painted. All shades are different types of wood, cut into tiny shapes and then glued together like a big, amazingly detailed puzzle.

The pictures behind this man (the father who owns the business) are all of the puzzle-type inlaid wood work.

What strikes me most is the Indian passion for all of these beautiful things. Indian people love intricate designed clothes - whether it's small tie dye patterns, stamp prints or embroidery. As long as you can afford it, you purchase the most elaborate design possible whether it's clothes, or decor for your house or your rickshaw. And even the smallest towns are adorned with bright colorful temples and sculptures and carvings of various Gods. And Indians without their Bollywood movies, dance moves, and songs would just be fish without water.
In what is always regarded as a "developing" or third-world country, you might not expect art to be all around you at all times, and see that so many resources are allocated toward aesthetic beauty and artful entertainment. Frugality would dictate that you do what is necessary, and nothing more. But the truly amazing thing about India is that all this art is part of the country's inherent culture. There's no "art scene" - it's just there, all around you. Nobody would do without it. There is no question about its necessity, because without India's art there is no religion, entertainment, clothing, or decor. Without its art, there really is no India.

What's even better is that we learned that the Indian government recognizes this as India's true specialty, and supports exporting of art and handiwork. When we visited a government-supported marble carver in Jaipur and a carpet-maker in Amritsar, they told us we could purchase anything and have it shipped back home for free - subsidized by India. We can't afford anything big enough to ship right now - but we were really happy to learn that these skilled people of India, who work so hard, were getting true support from the government.

I'll just leave you here with some more pictures, because my words utterly fail in comparison. I recommend clicking on one and seeing the rest as a slideshow for bigger images. Enjoy!

Touch up paint. Humayun's Tomb, Delhi

Fabric block-printing in Jaipur. The stamps are hand-carved and then pressed into the cloth with colored ink for designs.

Bodhgaya, Bihar. The place where Buddha is said to have reached enlightenment thousands of years ago.

Small Hindu dieties in the operating room at the Patna hospital
 
Around Qutub Minar, Delhi

Saris laying out to dry near the holy Kaveri River

The Golden Temple - Amrtisar, Punjab

A woman dancing in Rajasthan

Sheesh Mahal, Amber Fort, Jaipur

You've seen pictures, you've heard it's a world wonder - but if you haven't seen it in person, you just haven't seen it. Truly breath-taking.

A man carving marble - The top is temporarily stained with henna so the carved part is easier to see. Real Indian marble is non-pourous, so the henna washes right off. It is then inlaid with stones.

A beautiful marble table with inlaid stones.

Agra Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh



Saturday, April 20, 2013

Arrival and Depature in Patna

We heard the news from the United States about the bombing and subsequent suspect chase in Boston. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected!

Today is our last day in Patna, so it's fitting to write about our arrival and living situation here now. We arrived here last Thursday from Delhi with out any airport issues. When we arrived, we noticed a man who was holding a sign with only my name. I told Shreya, "well, looks like my ride is here, I'll see you at the hospital. So long sucker!" And then she punched me. After that we told the man that we were both volunteers. He looked a little worried, looked at our backpacks, and asked if we were sure both of us were going to the clinic. We assured him we were both volunteers, and he engaged his Bluetooth to call for the car. We decided to nickname him Barney, after Neil Patrick Harris from How I Met Your Mother, as he was relatively well dressed and Barney sometimes answers his phone with a Bluetooth device and says "go for Barney". Anyway, once the car came we understood his concerns:
 
The actual car that picked us up was slightly older version of this car.
It was a Maruti Suzuki Alto, which isn't a problem by itself, but was filled with Dr. Sinha, a driver and a large baby stroller built for twins. We were adding, Barney, Shreya, myself, two 13 kilo 65 litre (ha metric!) packs, and two small-ish day packs. We piled in semi-India style (no one on the roof), with our backpacks on our laps and all the other gear packed around us and headed to Dr. Sinha's house. I'm not very claustrophobic, but I did have to talk myself down from a panic attack. Five people, plus luggage, a twins stroller, and a dwindling A/c in temperatures hitting close to 40 C (fahrenheit conversion), in a car smaller than a Honda Fit had my head spinning. We did make it home with no issues and a great story! We dropped off our stuff at the guest room (sorry for the poor quality):






One of the coolest things we got to do here was participate in an eye surgery! We got to scrub in and help lubricate the eye while the doctor performed a phacoemulsification. "Scrubbing in" to a surgery is a big deal. You have to make sure that you are as clean and bacteria free as possible to ensure that the patient does not get an infection. There is a detailed process for how to get the soap, how to wash your hands, how long you wash, what process you use, how you put on your apron, and what to touch to get your sterile gloves on. It was an intricate process that Dr. Sinha guided us through. Our jobs during the surgery were to provide a saline solution to keep the eye moist every time Dr. Sinha said "VSS":

Don't pass out!
As the saying goes: Nothing is constant, except for change and the way things operate day to day here is "the same as usual" which means everyday is totally different. No two days have been the same and we've been floating around trying to be ready for anything. Some days Operating Theater starts at 9 other days at 11 or 12. Sometimes we put ParaCain (description) drops before the patients enter the OT and sometimes only in the OT. Sometimes we give medication, sometimes we don't. Sometimes we plow through a bunch of auto refracts after OT, sometimes we head to the charity clinics, which themselves are at different locations depending on the day. Out of the 10 days we have been here we expected at least two days to be the same (the clinic is closed on Sundays). So in the morning when we wonder what is in store for us that day we respond with "the usual" meaning we have no clue. This has contributed to the excitement during the day as we never know what will happen after we finish a task. The experience here has been great, and kinda feels too short. We head out early tomorrow so I'm going to cut this blog post a little short and wrap up with some pictures. Enjoy, and we'll report next from South India!
Distributing glasses at the charity clinic.
Post surgery...what's going to happen next?!?
Patients waiting for check up post surgery. Gangsta! 
One of the staff at the hospital, Premila. Always smiling and laughing!
The team after a long hard day at work unwinding. 

Monday, April 15, 2013

One month to go...


Warning!!! There are some random thoughts at the beginning of this post, but then it goes on to talk about our over night train from Bhubaneswar to New Delhi. Enjoy!

There has been a lot that has happened on this trip. Its hard to believe we have been away from the U.S. this entire year. As the cliche goes, there have been a lot of ups and downs during this trip, especially emotionally. I can't tell if I'm anxious, excited, or scared to go "home" or just weary from traveling and want to return to familiar faces and customs. I never realized how mentally exhausting being away from home can be. Having to keep track of small things that I've normally taken for granted such as the quality of water and food, how to say 'hello', planning meals, finding safe stores and transport, different customs and numerous other things has added up. I'm lucky that I have a great travel (and life) partner that helps carry a lot of the burden, especially since her language skills far exceed mine. With a month to go it is hard not to think of what is coming when we return and thinking about the comforts of familiarity. We're planning a cross country drive in a car that will celebrate it's 40th birthday next year. We're mostly playing that trip by ear, and are hoping that the car (and ourselves) are up to the task. Shreya has been looking for apartments in the San Francisco area that are affordable (ha!) while both of us are unemployed. I've been spending spare internet time searching for possible employment once we reach CA. While emailing a friend recently he let me know that with the diversity of companies in the Bay area I could probably find a position doing whatever I wanted. Hmm...doing whatever I wanted...what do I want to do? Lots to think about here, and our current travels have placed us on some long distance trains where it is easy to let our minds wander into the future. 

Shreya captured this early morning picture on the way from Dhenkenal to Bhubaneswar
The rail system here is truly phenomenal. The train is one of the best ways to travel and see India. Booking the train is an interesting process, and even though we bought two tickets together, I ended up wait-listed while Shreya was confirmed to board. Shreya did a bunch of research and it seemed that it wouldn't be a problem and since we were on the "same ticket" that we might get a two passenger coupe. The status of wait-listed passengers is usually updated by 5 pm the night before an early train. However, at 6 pm the night before there was no change in the status. We got little nervous as we didn't have a backup plan. We also read that status updates may happen 4 hours before departure, so we still had some hope. Luckily we didn't have to wait until 5 am to see the status change and at 9pm we found out I could board and that we did get a coupe:

Shreya on the top bunk!
We got a coupe', hey!
We took the Rajdhani Express over night train from Bhubaneswar to New Delhi and were in the first class a/c section. When they say that it is a/c'd they really mean it, I saw the gauge was set to about 20 C (68 F)! On a side note: I need to get better at taking cell phone pics of this type of thing. It was nice to have the freedom to walk around and also to not worry about traffic. A/C first class is super comfy and  I decided to take advantage of the 2 person coupe' and soft rocking motion to take nap:

Just when you think it is safe to take nap...
Shreya getting some quiet time.
The Rajdhani express is known for it's food, and we were definitely well fed on the trip:

I believe this was a snack between breakfast and lunch. Heart-shaped patties. 
Tomato soup(e') in the coupe'!
It seemed like they served us every 2 hours with either soup, a snack, or a meal. We pretty much stayed in the coupe' for the entire trip and watch the scenery go by:

Beautiful India sunset.
At one of the stops we decided to a filmy train picture before departure:

Hurry! The trains leaving!
Although Shreya and I have spent nights in twin sized beds, the bed in the coupe was just too small and we decided split up in the bunks. The train arrived in Delhi about about an hour and a half late. We planned on staying at a close family friends flat who lives in an up and coming neighborhood of Delhi called Noida. We took the newish Delhi metro system to the Noida city center and a tuk tuk the rest of the way. The Delhi metro is really nice and is a cheap, quick, efficient way to get across the urban sprawl. I really liked the fact that they left parts of it above ground so you could see the city.

All in all, the trip to Delhi was a lot of fun. It was our first cross country train ride and we got to see tons of the Indian country side. It gave us some nice downtime to relax and refresh before our slightly hectic tour of the Golden Triangle (we made it a four sided polygon by adding a trip to Amritsar). After the trip, Shreya and I both agreed that the train is one of the best ways to travel. It gets our stamp of approval (which is highly coveted, btw)!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Holi Moley!

Nilit and I have finished working at the hospital in Dhenkanal, Orissa. It's hard to believe it's already been over a whole month here in India!

Toward the end of our stay we got to know Yogi and the sisters a bit more, and recently, the hospital surgeon too (Dr. Singh). During pre-op one day Dr Singh (who we don't get to speak with too often) invited us both to his house to celebrate Holi the following day. If you aren't familiar with this Indian "festival of colors," I'll summarize. The folk story goes that an evil man was trying to get his son killed by a monster named Holika. Holika was to sit the boy in her lap as she sat atop a blazing fire (she was immortal, and would not be harmed by the fire). However, when Holika tried to kill the boy this way, he began praying. Because the boy was such a strong devotee, he was saved and couldn't be burned or killed. Everyone celebrated his survival that day, and continue to do so today with the festival named after the monster.

To be completely honest I just learned all this the day after Holi, when I was talking on the phone with my mom (to be even more honest, it's probably at least the 30th time I've heard it, but I forget every year). The folk tale, the celebration of the boy's survival - none of this was even remotely obvious while we were actually celebrating. This is just to say that the celebration itself has roots in this little folk tale, but those roots have mostly been lost over the years - much like Christmas has become about pine trees and gift-giving. That being said, we didn't mind at all. We aren't really celebration purists, I guess. If it's fun, we will be there... And this time, it was a BLAST.

Holi these days is celebrated with lots of food, and dousing your friends and family in colored powder. The powder comes in tonnes of colors, and they are all just amazingly brilliant. When people talk about India being colorful, this is what they mean. Seriously. The colors - green, purple, orange, red, pink, yellow - they are all bright and just stunning!

Colors at the market on the eve of Holi

We spent most of the day celebrating with Dr. Singh. He picked us up in the morning and we walked over to his house. We had our colors in hand and donned white clothing, which we also bought from the market the night before. As you can imagine, your real clothes would be irreparably stained by the colors of Holi. Plus, wearing white helps showcase all of the colors of your celebrations.

On the way to the doctor's house, we ran into a few groups of kids, who had already clearly enjoyed their morning. Playing Holi is a little like a snowball fight. Doesn't matter if you're strangers - if you've got your weapons in-hand you're fair game. And then it's on!


We had fun at the doctor's house, and had some tea and snacks and met his wife. The two of them moved from a different state in India 6 months ago, and his wife and I bonded over missing home a bit. She also didn't speak Oriya, so she was glad to have some Hindi-speaking company. We talked about everything from friends and family to food and photography and engineering. On the way back to the hospital with Dr Singh we ran into a few more groups of kids as well as a group of probably 10-15 older friendly men traveling the town on scooters. They were just going from house-to-house, Halloween style, celebrating holi with whoever was in the mood (and whoever would feed them!). They invited us with them, and much dancing, singing, and coloring was had in random places. I wish I could explain how much fun it was, but you really had to be there. Most of them were probably in their 40s, but they were enjoying themselves as much as the kids we saw. Women carrying food, sweets, and more color would come outside to greet us and everyone would sing and dance and play Holi.




 
It was awesome.


So eventually we made our way back to the hospital. Yogi and another staff member were there, but the rest of the place was sadly quiet. After realizing that most of the sisters (the paramedics who live in the hospital) weren't around, we all decided to have our own fun.

This guy felt strongly that Nilit should have a mustache. So he painted one on.

We still had some color left, and Nilit and I had also bought a water squirter from the Holi market the night before. It was basically just a giant plastic orange syringe. Nilit and I decided to fill a couple buckets of water and mixed in some powdered color. We walked out to the street in front of the hospital and started filling the syringe and shooting random passer-bys with the color-filled water. Some people on their bikes and scooters would swerve around trying to avoid us, but most people were loving it. A few even stopped in their tracks and surrendered to our attack and enjoyed the cool colorful water, on what by now had turned into a very hot afternoon. At some point Dr Singh turned to us and said "now THIS is how you play Holi!"

After Dr Singh decided to head home and call it a day, Nilit and I figured we could venture out to the market. We walked down the road in front of the hospital, colors in hand. We played with random kids on the street and joined some guys in front of a temple dancing. The crowds quickly dwindled, though, and we realized after noticing a shift in the type of people who were out, that it was best to head home.

After a full day of Holi - Happy and colorful!


So Holi for us was a blast. It took a few showers to get all of the color out, and we're still noticing parts of our fingers or hair that are still dyed - but it'll go away soon enough. Luckily the fun memories will stay though.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!